SANTA ANA, CA (July 17, 2014) – The City of Santa Ana announced the rollout of new solar-powered smart meters in the downtown area. The new parking meters will improve the experience for visitors in the downtown and provide multiple payment options including payment by credit and debit card.
“This is great for businesses and residents in the downtown. Having multiple payment options is an added convenience for our visitors and the meters themselves use smart technology to improve our parking meter efficiency,” said Councilwoman Michele Martinez.
“The new smart meters are easy to use and make it much more convenient for people to visit downtown,” said Restaurant Association President Jeff Hall.
The new solar-powered parking meters are equipped with back-up batteries, self-monitor to identify operational problems and use wireless technology to notify technicians promptly if any problems occur. Through this system, meters report their status and activity, provide parking occupancy data and text alerts to instantly report jams to technicians.
An enhanced option to add meter time via mobile phone will also be rolled out in the coming months giving visitors to the downtown the option to pay for meter time remotely. The smart meters use real-time online credit card authorization processes, which meet the highest Visa and MasterCard standards for credit card information security. No credit card information is ever stored on the meters or on any City information system.
“The installation of the new smart parking meters is in alignment with the City’s Five Year Strategic Plan,” said City Manager David Cavazos. “This is another example of the City’s dedication to innovation and efficiency.”
The City will replace close to five hundred coin-only meters in the downtown area, between Civic Center Drive and First Street, by Friday. Rates will remain the same.
